


Our Days

by SinGrin



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, One Shot, Sappy, Slice of Life, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 01:43:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3791923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinGrin/pseuds/SinGrin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story of a love between a soldier and a young man with a smile like sunlight that grew stronger each day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Days

**Author's Note:**

> This little story came to me when the image of a young Iruka sitting on a small balcony just popped into my head. This is edition 2.0 no huge changes to plot just grammar corrections and some tweaking to characters' reactions.

Our Days

The entire nation could feel it. War was coming again, and only a little more than a decade after the previous one. However this small, bright town seemed to be isolated from the troubles of the world: Old men wandered or chatted with others like them, complaining of pains from lives long lived. Their wives or sisters tottered about, shopping, chatting or scolding the unruly children that ran about the street with merry gap-toothed grins and mischievous eyes. The young adults helped with chores around the shops, spoke loudly and jovially with their friends, or sent admiring looks towards other certain individuals their age. The merchants, farmers and artisans flaunted their wares from their shopfronts shooing away loitering children and teenagers alike to make room for the adults.  
This was for all rights and purposes a paradise. Kakashi felt he was tainting it with his mere presence. People were already taking notice of him. A few were even blatantly staring at the tall man adorned in the sleek black military uniform of The State. Kakashi would be staying in town for the next week or so until the plans for the recruitment office were solidified. As it turned out the governor was away on a trip to another town a two day's travel to the west from Konohagakure and so Kakashi had decided to simply stay here and await her return. He would certainly have to change into something less formal. The most casual clothing he had brought were fatigues and while they were intimidating he had never desired to stand out anywhere that he went.  
He had dismissed the other members of his unit with orders to meet him back at the rendezvous point the next day. Lodging had been provided by the military already and Kakashi was on his way back to his hotel room from the restaurant where he had taken his late breakfast. Kakashi was passing by a grocery store when a group of teenagers piled out of it, grins wide on their faces, exchanging jokes and jibes. He waited until the bulk of the group passed and carried on. A body collided with his side, the seasoned soldier quickly steadied himself while the other person stumbled back a bit dropping the heavy bag on the soldier's foot.  
“Ah! Sorry! I'm so sorry!” A male voice rang out and Kakashi looked at his clumsy assailant. He found a handsome male face looking back at him apologetically. There was a slight amount of fear in those large expressive eyes but not due to the uniform he wore, not because of his reputation. There was no recognition in that look. Just a simple apology for a wrong against another human being. That look sent a shot of warmth through the soldier. “Are you alright?” The teenager asked. He was maybe half a head shorter than Kakashi and wore simple clothes. But what stood out the very most was his scar; deep and horizontal it slashed across the bridge of his nose and under his eyes. An inch higher and he would have been blinded.  
“Don't worry about it.”Kakashi waved him off bending down to pick up an apple that had fallen from the teenager's bag. The teenager bent double as well retrieving the other groceries he had dropped and dumped them haphazardly back into his bag. Kakashi watched quietly finding the sight oddly enjoyable.   
“Hey Iruka, what's--” Another young man called back turning his head and freezing at the sight of the tall soldier standing so close to his friend. Iruka, or who Kakashi assumed was Iruka, turned to look at his friend before returning his attention to the soldier. Iruka took the apple that Kakashi still held and directed a smile up at the masked soldier. His teeth were mostly straight, with only one incisor hiding a half step back from the others. His full lips stretched in a way that made those large eyes narrow and sparkle. Kakashi wondered briefly if everything had become a little warmer in the past few seconds or if it was just him.  
“Thank you. I hope I see you again.” He said with a wave and hurried off with a single glance over his shoulder. Kakashi watched the teenager's retreating back as his brain filled with a soft buzz. He distantly rose his hand on a wave goodbye. 

The second day in Konohagakure the governor still hadn't returned. Kakashi chose to go to a book store to kill time. He went out into the streets wearing only the lower layers of his military uniform. With a tight black sleeveless shirt and matching baggy combat pants that were stuffed into scuffed mid-calf high duty boots he supposed that this was as civilian-like as he would look without going out and buying a new outfit. His dog tags still hung around his neck but the intimidating aura of a soldier was somewhat dampened by the little orange book he had buried his nose in since buying it minutes ago. Unfortunately Tenzou had purged his bag of his romance novels before they had set out on their trip and so Kakashi hadn't thought twice about buying a second (alright, fourth if one counted the other two back home) copy of his favorite of the series just to have it to read now.  
As he walked along he was certain that he was getting a few strange looks but since no one bothered to talk about it to his face Kakashi wouldn't bother taking whatever they might want to say into consideration. Most of the time in larger cities people just ignored you, especially if you walked around with a pornographic novel in front of your face. He was about to turn into a small restaurant when something landed with a soft slap against the pavement in front of him, he peered over the pages of his novel to find a single black sandal sitting innocently before him.  
“Hey.” A voice called. Kakashi looked up and nearly dropped his book as that pleasant buzzing sensation filled his head again. The brunet smiled down at him from his perch on a small balcony directly above the restaurant entrance. His black hair was in a loose braid resting against the side of his neck and he wore a loose white tank top over a pair of faded knee-length red shorts displaying toned, tan arms. It was a... very nice look for him. “I guess I'm pretty lucky, huh?” He smiled down at Kakashi and if he hadn't known any better the soldier could have sworn that the sky had opened up to reveal a second sun.  
Kakashi forced this... whatever it was... sensation to the back of his mind and replied in a deceptively bored tone. “Maa, I wouldn't say losing your sandal is really all that lucky.”  
Iruka shrugged smile still there but now with the slightest hint of shyness in his eyes. “Well, you're going to get it back to me, right?”  
Kakashi fought down an amused smirk. “I suppose that could happen, but what's in it for me?” He asked the smile that tugged at his lips won over.  
Iruka rested his folded arms on the wrought-iron railing, a contemplative look on his face. “Hm... How about... A kiss!” Kakashi spluttered, Iruka laughed, and the masked man realized that he was being teased... even if a kiss from the handsome teenager sounded very nice. “How about I buy you lunch?” Iruka said his laughter having died down to chuckles. Kakashi agreed. 

Iruka was mature beyond his years despite the mischief in his large eyes and the playfulness of his gestures. He spoke with Kakashi (or rather to, due to the soldier's lack of skill at making conversation) on certain matters that mainly concerned the village, the children he sometimes watched over for busy parents or the younger man's friends. Kakashi quietly assessed him, it was automatic really. The teen rarely ever spoke of his parents nor any sort of family at all, when he did he would always use the past tense all but confirming Kakashi's suspicions that the scarred teen was an orphan like himself. He spoke of no girlfriend, boyfriend or anything else and Kakashi didn't have to think too hard to know why he was interested in that aspect of the teen's life. Iruka worked at the restaurant beneath his apartment and lived alone. His best friends were two doofuses named Izumo and Kotetsu whom he had apparently had to smack around a couple times to get them to finally admit their feelings for one another. His favorite color was green and his least favorite food was mixed rice. He babysat often and volunteered at the daycare a block down from his home. He was an honest, good, hard-working person who laughed often and smiled despite the loneliness in his words at times. Because Iruka was lonely. Kakashi could see it as well as he saw it in himself every morning when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Also, like Kakashi, Iruka was managing it by stubbornly charging forward with his life expecting something better around every corner. However, unlike Kakashi Iruka had found some degree of contentedness in his existence while Kakashi felt like he was simply going through the motions nowadays. Like an actor in a play he was sick of participating in. When the meal was done Iruka and Kakashi stepped back out onto the street. Both men said their reluctant goodbyes and went off on their way home. 

The next day Kakashi came to the same restaurant as before. His feet had led him there as if on autopilot and he had no complaints whatsoever when he spotted the familiar form of Iruka sitting on the balcony like the day before. This time his hair was back up in it's normal ponytail, however somewhat looser than it had been two days earlier. The brunet smiled and waved and Kakashi stepped over to stand beneath his balcony, ignoring the annoyed customers who had to shuffle around him to get to the door. “Are you going to ask me to let down my hair?” Iruka said grinning and brushing said hair behind his ears as he looked down at Kakashi.  
“Hm... Maybe. There's no evil step-mother to catch me, is there?” Kakashi replied. Iruka snorted and turned away heading back inside only to reappear moments later out of the small door on the front of the building.  
“Oh believe me, I don't need a fairy godmother, Kakashi-san. I'm fearsome enough on my own when I need to be.” Iruka said digging his hands into his pockets.  
Kakashi chuckled. “I believe it.”  
Iruka smiled and invited Kakashi to lunch again.

They followed this pattern for a week. Kakashi going to Iruka's balcony and the brunet dragging him off to a new restaurant each day. The brunet became a routine, not just the mundane sort but one that made Kakashi quite happy. On the fourth day Kakashi had divulged some of the nastier parts of his career as a soldier and Iruka in return confided that both of his parents had died in a fire when he was ten.

On the fifth day Kakashi walked so closely to Iruka that their arms brushed as they looked over the park near the center of the small city. Iruka had placed a hand on his back, shoulder, hand, briefly on multiple occasions throughout the outing and Kakashi found himself returning them with some hesitancy. Iruka asked him his age. Kakashi had replied truthfully in exchange for Iruka's own. 21 and 17. Kakashi left feeling a little happier than he usually did after one of their... outings.

On the sixth day the governor returned. Kakashi did not go to see Iruka but made it up to him on the seventh day by showing up early so that they could be together longer. Iruka had invited Kakashi into his small home and cooked him some lunch. The masked man noted that the food tasted exceptionally good and the brunet had given him extra eggplant in his dish.

On the eighth day the plans with the governor had been frozen. The governor was concerned about what an outpost in Konoha would do to her citizen's well-being and state of mind and so she had kindly asked them to leave as she thought it over. Kakashi took the time to visit his favorite brunet and found the boy inside the restaurant bussing tables in a black apron that made Kakashi think semi-perverted thoughts. Iruka squeezed his shoulder, placing a bowl oyakudon in front of him and whispering that he was off in another hour if he wanted to wait. Kakashi did. Quickly eating the food and reading his book to kill time. Iruka had scoffed once he had finally spotted the cover of Kakashi's book and teased Kakashi for being a pervert for the rest of the day. Kakashi had no real choice except to agree when he caught himself looking over the younger man's body as he walked ahead.

On the ninth day Kakashi admitted to himself that he may have a crush on the brunet as Iruka sat close enough to him that their thighs rested a mere inch or two apart. They were watching the annual summer festival decorations being erected in the town square from a nearby rooftop. That night the two men sat side by side in a similar spot watching fireworks explode in the sky as red paper lanterns bobbed in the breeze below. Kakashi felt warmth on his cheek. Stunned he turned only to find Iruka leaning back, his black hair once again in a braid, with a pink tint across his cheeks which were scrunched up in a silly smile. Later on Kakashi returned that kiss pulling the elastic band from Iruka's hair and unraveling the soft braid with gentle callused fingers. 

On the tenth day the two young men were blushing and dancing around one another until finally Iruka got fed up and jammed his hand into Kakashi's pocket, where the masked man's own hand rested, and intertwined their fingers. Both men relaxed and started smiling much more.

On the eleventh day Kakashi was told that he was to oversee the organization and construction of the recruitment office and so was going to be posted in Konohagakure for the next six months. Kakashi would have usually protested about receiving such a mundane task but now that there was something in Konohagakure that he was undeniably interested in he had no desire whatsoever to leave for the capitol again. Later on he told Iruka over their customary lunch that he'd be gone for a week or so as he retrieved his belongings from Capitol. Iruka nodded and gave him a hug that he returned only with a little awkwardness nowadays. “Come back soon.”

On the eighteenth day Kakashi returned to Konohagakure with what little belongings he had. He was a soldier and so most of his life was spent living in the barracks. When he had been promoted he had chosen the privacy of a small studio apartment that even now after three years of living in it was sparsely decorated and served as more of a place to sleep and bathe rather than an actual home. He reported to the governor and notified his subordinates that he was back before dropping his things off at the small temporary housing the village had provided for him and heading off to Iruka's  
He found the brunet lounging on the balcony seemingly in wait for him. His lean, tan legs hung between the bars and his upper half was propped up by an oddly shaped cushion an old book laid in his lap although he didn't seem to be paying much attention to it. Kakashi used his years as a soldier to sneak up on the younger man, leap up, grab one of the dangling bare feet and give it squeeze before releasing it and landing on the ground again. A loud squawk emitted from Iruka and a disgruntled brunet looked down at him before realizing who he was. The annoyed face quickly split into a grin and the man raced off of the balcony and appeared again to pull Kakashi inside. Once in the privacy of Iruka's home the brunet pulled Kakashi to him in a tight hug. As silly as it might have seemed the two men had missed one another over the seven days Kakashi had been gone. Iruka told Kakashi as such and the soldier simply nodded his agreement, wrapping Iruka in his arms and breathing the younger man in.  
That night they shared a dinner and their bodies with one another. Iruka had shyly stripped, their heat and passion had been interrupted by awkwardness and self consciousness. Kakashi watched as the clothing fell away from the younger man's thin but toned body enjoying the view and savoring the heat it sent through his body. Iruka stepped forward, large black eyes vulnerable and questioning Kakashi shook his daze away. The first to go was the pants, then the shirt and then the redundant mask he wore beneath his shirt. Iruka had given him an amused smirk at that but soon he was curious once again. Kakashi allowed Iruka to peel of the mask himself and watched as the younger man's face filled with something akin to happiness. Iruka traced the lines of his lips, his nose his eyes with callused fingertips. Those digits danced across the scars that littered Kakashi's body. Each touch a blessing. Each caress a kind of small purifying ritual.  
Kakashi breathed in deeply and exhaled as arousal rose within him but allowed Iruka to touch all he liked until the younger man began to tug him towards the bed. They fell in unison. Kakashi rolled over, pulling the slightly smaller man on top of him. They shared a kiss. Hands explored each others bodies. They touched one another in intimate places until their climaxes crashed around them in shuddering waves and soft moans. They fell asleep still caressing each other's bodies with curious fingers and hushed laughter.

On the third day of the third month Iruka and Kakashi had gotten into their first fight. The brunet was angry. So, so angry. The first batch of recruits from Konohagakure had left for a base at the eastern border a month ago. Just two days prior a terrorist organization had set off bombs in the base killing three recruits and five privates. Two of the three recruits had been Iruka's friends. Iruka had no idea how to handle his grief. He had tried to keep it bottled up. Tried to keep from lashing out at the very man who had helped to send his friends to their deaths. But he couldn't. Kakashi didn't argue with what Iruka knew were false and unfair accusations. Kakashi wouldn't even look at him. Why? Why wouldn't he just tell Iruka that he was wrong? When Iruka said this the masked man turned back to him “Because you're not. I'm a soldier, Iruka. A high ranking one. It's my job to send others to fight and if need be, die for our country. It's what your friends signed up for. It's what I signed up for.” and then, Kakashi left.

On the fourth day of the third month Kakashi and Iruka had stopped speaking to one another. It was remarkably easy to avoid one another with their routines being so different now. Emotionally it was like the two young men had taken great boulders onto their shoulders. Both of them gasping and straining beneath the pain, anger and regret of their harsh words. Kakashi put up an indifferent front but his colleagues gave him a wide berth due to the dark mood that was radiating off of him. Iruka was nowhere near as collected. He grieved for his friend's deaths as well as the masked man's absence throughout the day, worrying some of his friends as well as the owner of the restaurant below his home.

On the twelfth day of the third month Iruka broke down in front of Izumo and Kotetsu. Neither of the other teenagers had known exactly who had been making Iruka so damn happy for the past few months but now that they had seen their friend so depressed for a whole week the two had pushed Iruka to confess just what was eating him. Iruka spilled all past his angry tears. The handsome soldier he had bumped into at the grocery store, the kind but socially clumsy man who he dragged out for lunch almost every day following that, the happy budding relationship they had nurtured for the past few months and how he had destroyed it all with his stupid temper and how Kakashi had let him do it. How Kakashi had simply left. Kotetsu and Izumo urged Iruka to go after the soldier. Iruka refused, still angry with Kakashi but more so with himself.

On the sixteenth day of the third month Iruka finally swallowed his guilt and made his way over to the recruitment office. He had only ever been there once before when it was still under construction but he hoped that his quarry would be there. He wanted Kakashi back. He would try everything in his power to get Kakashi to forgive him. He entered the small office, a fan was twirling lazily on the ceiling and a man lounged just as lazily behind an empty desk with a toothpick flicking between his lips. Iruka asked to see Kakashi. The man gave him a strange look before saying that the Captain was out at the moment. Iruka asked when he'd be back and the recruiting officer looked annoyed.  
“If you're looking to enlist you don't need the captain's permission.” The officer huffed pulling out a small stack of forms.  
“I'm not looking to--”  
The front door opened with a small jingle “Genma, do you have those files for-- Iruka?” A familiar voice cut itself off in apparent surprise. Iruka turned, his heart was racing. Kakashi looked thinner. His hair was messier than usual, his eyes were slightly red and underlined with dark circles from lack of sleep. Iruka probably didn't look much different. The brunet didn't have much time to dwell on it though when Kakashi spoke again. “What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice was soft, clipped. What little of the handsome face that could be seen had turned hard, as if he were angry. Iruka was taken aback at the tone he had only ever heard it once before. The night when Kakashi had left. “Genma, leave.” Kakashi barked, his gaze not leaving Iruka's face. Genma rose with a groan but wasted no time hauling ass out of the room. His single eye glanced down at the stack of papers on the desk and lingered there. Iruka saw a small swirl of panic a split second before Kakashi's hands seized his arms. They weren't necessarily rough nor particularly gentle either “Were you enlisting?” He breathed. Iruka simply stared at him with wide eyes. Not once had Kakashi ever touched him like this. He had missed this man so much he would just have to reach out an-- Kakashi's hands moved to Iruka's shoulders squeezing a little harder. “Iruka. Answer me.” Kakashi commanded and a shiver went down the brunet's spine at the tone. “Are you planning to enlist in the army?”  
Iruka was finally snapped out of Kakashi-land and his brow wrinkled in confusion “What? No. I came here to find you.” He replied. Shaking off Kakashi's hands and stepping back. They needed to talk, and that wasn't going to happen with Kakashi so close after so long.  
Kakashi's hard look melted first into confusion then he let out a short tired sigh and lowered his hands to his side. “Why?”  
Iruka swallowed. He had practically prepared an entire speech this morning in his bathroom mirror but his mind was pulling a complete and utter blank at the moment. “I had to. I'm so sorry Kakashi. I was being stupid. I just-- Please.” He breathed the last word as tears blossomed at the corners of his eyes. “I shouldn't have said any of it. I was just so sad and angry and you were just there and I know I screwed up, I know. But I want us to be together so please... Please let's just...” He faded out. His words sounded too simple to actually convince Kakashi. But he didn't now what else could be said. Luckily it seemed like no more had to be. Kakashi took a step closer Iruka watched him, hope rising in his chest. A long, arm wrapped around his waist setting a hand against the small of Iruka's back and pulled him towards the larger body. Kakashi pulled down his mask and slid the other hand into Iruka's soft black hair before kissing him. It was clumsy and hungry, nevertheless Iruka found himself sinking into Kakashi's familiar taste.

On the sixteenth day of the fifth month war was officially declared between three great nations and the capitol sent a summons to all of her soldiers on active duty. Kakashi was to leave in two weeks for an undisclosed location on the northern front. It was bound to be bad there. Cold and rugged with snowstorms this time of year. The weather could take his life just as easilly as an enemy soldier. Yet they claimed they needed a soldier of his calliber at that crucial strategic point. When he told Iruka the young man went quiet and somber for the rest of the night his laughter strained and short, his touches and gaze lingering. That night Iruka left a bruise on Kakashi's wrist from where he'd pulled the soldier back into his apartment and commanded him to stay the night. Kakashi, of course, agreed.

On the eighteenth day of the fifth month Kakashi was approached by Iruka as he walked towards the brunet's balcony. Iruka disregarded the crowds and wrapped his arms around his man's waist, buried his face in Kakashi's neck and demanded that Kakashi come over and stay at his place until he was dispatched in twelve days. Kakashi agreed readily wrapping his own arm around Iruka's ribs and snaking his other hand up to gently massage the back of the younger man's neck.

On the twenty-sixth day of the fifth month Kakashi didn't show up to work and neither did Iruka. Both young men shared Iruka's apartment and seemed to be attempting to live as much of their future together as possible in those far too few hours. Kakashi cleaned the floors, burned breakfast and scrubbed the pans out as Iruka started cooking breakfast himself. He set out his few belongings. A picture frame with his old cadet squad, a squat, prickly little cactus named Mr. Ukki and his collection of romance novels which were set on the empty half of Iruka's book case. Iruka made space for Kakashi's clothes in his drawers and Kakashi neatly placed them there despite knowing that he would have to pack them back up again. He tried not to think about that. Both of them avoided the topic and lived as happily together as any young couple might given time. That night Kakashi entered Iruka for the first time. When Kakashi had asked if the brunet was certain Iruka had simply huffed a laugh out between aroused pants and nodded wrapping long tan legs around the soldier cradling his face between two callused hands.

On the twenty-seventh day of the fifth month Kakashi was Iruka's personal servant for the morning since the brunet was too sore to move much. Kakashi accepted his new role with grace and kissed the younger man twice before bringing him simple toast for breakfast. They spent the morning in bed together chatting, reading, dozing, cuddling, making love. The night they spent together on the couch Kakashi flipping through the channels on the television before giving up and turning the device off. Iruka pulled Kakashi down so that the man's head rested in his lap. While in Iruka's home Kakashi had long forsaken the mask and so they sat there staring at one another. Iruka looked as if he was trying to burn Kakashi's face into his memory. Kakashi couldn't blame him, he was doing the exact same thing.  
On the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month Kakashi woke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of soft crying as a body clung to his own with all of it's might. Kakashi placed his hand on Iruka's, shifting so that he could pull Iruka to his chest in a childish sort of hope that he could bury him in there. Iruka's sobs grew louder and Kakashi felt teeth bite into the fabric of his shirt in an attempt to muffle them. Kakashi said nothing, not trusting his own voice. He simply tightened his grip around Iruka as the younger man let out heart-wrenching, bone deep sobs. Kakashi ran his hands through the brunet's hair trying to soothe him. Iruka was frightened. For the first time in a long time Kakashi was too.

On the twenty-ninth day of the fifth month Iruka made breakfast and then the two of them walked around town. Their hands were linked for the world to see. A little blonde boy that Iruka babysat ran up to them and demanded that the brunet play with him. Iruka had caved almost instantly and Kakashi enjoyed the next hour spent sitting on a park bench watching his lover play with the boy on the jungle gym.

On the thirtieth day of the fifth month Kakashi and Iruka sat crammed onto the tiny balcony together, watching the sun rise. Both young men felt very old, as if the had lived a lifetime in the span of four days. Iruka was pressed to Kakashi's back, both of them staving off the slight chill in the air with one another's bodies. “Kakashi.” Iruka muttered softly turning his head to brush his lips agains a high, pale cheekbone.  
“Hm?” Kakashi hummed.  
“Come back to me.” Kakashi closed his eyes but did not speak he captured Iruka's hand from it's position on his chest and planted a firm, lingering kiss to the younger man's knuckles.  
“I'll try.”

On the thirty-first day of the fifth month. Kakashi pulled Iruka into a fierce hug that probably lasted a good ten minutes. Iruka squeezed back just as tightly, tan fingers gripped the black fabric of Kakashi's fatigues. “I'll be waiting for you.” Iruka said, his voice wavering with the threat of tears. “Eat plenty of food, even if you aren't hungry. Stay warm as best as you can. Write to me often.” Kakashi nodded wordlessly his grip on his lover tightening.  
“I love you.” He breathed soundlessly into his lover's shoulder. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.” He repeated it over and over as if repetition would make the silent confession be heard. He couldn't let it be though. If he said it aloud now it would cheapen the meaning of those precious three words. He had made a silent promise to try his damnedest to get back to Konohagakure. He would not say the words now because if he died it would only be that much harder for Iruka to move on and he would never ever want that.

On the fourteenth day of the second month after Kakashi's departure over a dozen tattered letters arrived in Iruka's mailbox. The brunet read them all his tears smudging the ink on the pages in a mixture of relief and loneliness as he read Kakashi's familiar untidy scrawl. He tucked each safely into a shoebox and placed it on his nightstand. Keeping it there so that he could read the letters again first thing in the morning, just to reassure himself that Kakashi was alive.

On the third day of the seventh month after Kakashi's departure the darkness of night greeted Iruka's frame curled in bed. As he had walked by a television store with a group of friends he had seen footage of the war on the northern front. Things were getting worse. Carnage, explosions, and gunshots in snowy barren lands haunted his dreams from that point on.

On the twentieth day of the ninth month after Kakashi's departure Iruka heard news of a truce between the Capitol and the country to the north. He would have been relieved if Kakashi's letters hadn't stopped coming three months ago. The villagers were celebrating but he couldn't bring himself to cheer. They most likely knew their loved ones were safe. Iruka however did not. His emotions tore at him and everyday he felt a little weaker in his daily battle against despair.

On the day of Kakashi's return Iruka first bellowed at him about the missing lower half of his right leg and the new deep scar slashed across his eye then raced down the stairs to tackle Kakashi to the ground raining down on his face with an onslaught of kisses. The masked man let out the first real laugh Iruka had heard him utter as he wrapped his arms around the younger man and brought him close.

They lived long lives afterwords, sharing many, many more days.


End file.
